WASHINGTON -- The U.S. State Department says Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Georgia next week for talks on Tbilisi's push for closer ties with NATO and the European Union.

Department spokesman John Kirby said on June 30 that Kerry will meet with Georgia's president, prime minister, and opposition leaders and raise the issue of upcoming elections in October.

Kirby also said Kerry will travel to Kyiv on the following day, July 7, to meet with Ukraine's president and prime minister, emphasizing the need for ongoing reforms and the implementation of the Minsk cease-fire agreement for eastern Ukraine.

Kerry will also join U.S. President Barack Obama in Warsaw later in the week for a NATO summit, where leaders are expected to endorse a larger deployment of alliance military forces to Eastern Europe.